Harbaugh concerned about ‘tough talk’ regarding hits on QBs

Jim Harbaugh played Colin Kaepernick sparingly in the preseason and went to extreme measures to keep his quarterback free from harm during practices this summer.

Not surprisingly, he’s not thrilled about the message NFL referees delivered to players this summer regarding hits on quarterbacks. As umpire Garth DeFelice explained when he visited Santa Clara, quarterbacks can be hit when they hand off to a runner and carry out a read-option fake. That is, when there is still a question of whether a quarterback still possesses the ball.

Their only protection in such circumstances is normal unnecessary roughness rules. It’s only when a quarterback drops back and sets up as a passer that he is afforded the added protections given to signal-callers.

Harbaugh said he’s been in contact with the league office regarding the rule, but doesn’t expect clarification this week. He also plans to speak with the referees before Sunday’s game against the Packers, whose outside linebacker, Clay Matthews, referenced the rule in an ESPN Radio interview this week. Said Matthews: “You do have to take your shots on the quarterback.”

Harbaugh referenced the Saints’ bounty scandal in saying such chatter was a concern.

“You’re hearing a lot of tough talk right now,” Harbaugh said. “You’re hearing some intimidating type of talk. Kind of things – same things we were hearing a couple of years ago. It sounds a lot like targeting a specific player.

“You definitely start to wonder. A man will usually tell you his bad intentions if you just listen. You know what’s being said publicly, you wonder what’s being said privately. You hope that their intent is not going to be anything that’s not within the rules.”

Harbaugh said the rule includes too much “gray area.”

“My opinion is before the quarterback’s declared being a runner, then he should be afforded the protection that all quarterbacks are afforded until he declares and gets out of the pocket and starts running with the ball,” Harbaugh said. “Or running an option, or carrying out a bootleg and attempting to run or pass when he’s outside of the pocket. But when he’s in the pocket, I believe that he’s a quarterback until he declares that he’s a runner.”

The Packers, of course, had no success containing Kaepernick in last season’s 45-31 divisional-playoff loss. Kaepernick had 181 rushing yards, a single-game NFL record for a quarterback, 444 total yards and became the third quarterback in NFL history with two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in a playoff game.

In a conference call with the Bay Area media this morning, Matthews said the rule clarifies when a quarterback can be hit.

“We’re always trying to get after the quarterback,” Matthews said. “It’s not like this game is any different as far as hitting the quarterback. But it does provide a clearer picture in regards to when a quarterback can be hit.

“It looks like – and, obviously, we’ll see in Week 1 – it looks like any time that quarterback is carrying out that play fake, he loses that right as a pocket passer and the rules that govern that. So we’ll see. We’ll see the hits that are legal and aren’t legal … But we feel like our game plan fits within the scheme of the officials and what we want to do.”

For the past two weeks, Harbaugh has had Kaepernick wear a black non-contact practice jersey, which is typically worn by injured players. Kaepernick isn’t hurt, but Harbaugh wanted to stress that the quarterback wasn’t to be touched after outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks came too close to him during practice.

For his part, Kaepernick said he wasn’t worried about potentially taking extra shots.

“It’s football,” he said. “You’re going to get hit.”

An injury to Kaepernick could torpedo San Francisco’s season. The 49ers backup quarterbacks are second-stringer Colt McCoy, who had a 52.6 preseason rating, and rookie B.J. Daniels, a seventh-round pick. They hosted free-agent quarterback John Skelton for a workout Tuesday.